After watching a three-peat championship slip away last spring, redemption hangs in the air.

But the Bruins are stepping back onto the court with something to prove.

No. 1 UCLA men’s volleyball will kick off its season with a weekend showdown against No. 15 McKendree and Concordia at Pauley Pavilion. Taking on both teams will give the Bruins an opportunity to dictate tempo and drive early on in their redemption season.

While UCLA enters the weekend with championship aspirations, the foundation for that pursuit was laid during an intense offseason.

“I’m just super proud of the guys and how hard they work, but we need to work harder,” said coach John Hawks. “That’s something that, going from last year to this year, we’ve already dialed up. Our fall was fantastic, so I’m just excited about where we’re going.”

The Bruins will take on the Bearcats – a program they have not faced since a UCLA win in 2019 – on Friday. McKendree finished its 2025 season with a 20-8 record in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, bringing experience and physicality into Pauley Pavilion for the season opener.

On the other hand, Concordia enters as a more familiar opponent. The Bruins last faced the Golden Eagles in 2024, capturing two straight-set wins.

Both matches will offer UCLA the opportunity to sharpen its play and help the squad develop consistency and flow early on before its schedule intensifies.

With Pauley Pavilion set to host the 2026 national championships later this spring, UCLA’s ambitions extend far beyond its opening weekend. The Bruins aim to compete for the title on their own home court. This champion mentality, however, is not new to the program.

“The mindset has been the same all throughout,” said senior setter Andrew Rowan. “I came in, and we were looking for a championship, and every year, it doesn’t matter what’s going on if you have that common goal with the team of winning a championship. Being exposed to that as a freshman implanted that into my brain for the rest of my career.”

That standard now meets a season filled with pressure and opportunity. With a national match slated for a UCLA home game, early performances like this weekend’s will carry an added weight as the squad looks to position itself to return to the sport’s biggest stage.

Looking ahead to the season, the Bruins’ offseason exposure to international play has helped display a clear benchmark.

Sophomore outside hitter Sean Kelly, sophomore setter Trent Taliaferro and freshmen outside hitters Grayson Bradford and Marek Turner participated in the men’s U21 World Championship in China this summer. The United States squad was led by Hawks and finished third overall in the championship.

“We all worked really hard this summer,” Kelly said. “It’s really going to help us in the long run. The more we learn, the better we all get. And I think the outcome could be different. We’re hungry for it.”

The offseason emphasis now shifts into competitive application. These early-season matches against McKendree and Concordia will reveal how effectively UCLA can translate offseason progress into in-game execution, particularly in extended rallies and out-of-system plays.

As players step into expanded responsibilities, UCLA will look to establish lineup stability and dependable options across all six rotations. But beyond individual growth, the offseason exposure to higher-level competition reinforced the program’s belief in its ceiling.

“We can compete with anybody in the world,” Hawks said. “I know that we compete with these guys internationally and nationally this year.”

UCLA will begin testing that belief this weekend against McKendree on Friday at 7 p.m.